


Library Song

by OrangeRaven989



Series: Annette Rarepair Week 2021 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Annette Rarepair Week (Fire Emblem), Annette Rarepair Week 2021, Dancing, Established Relationship, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29160987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeRaven989/pseuds/OrangeRaven989
Summary: While working out a battle plan in the library, Annette and Ashe reminisce about studying for exams and kissing in private nooks... before running off and kissing in a private nook. Also, they dance together.Annette Rarepair Week 2021, Day 3: Studying/Dream
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert
Series: Annette Rarepair Week 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136132
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Library Song

**Author's Note:**

> Annette and Ashe are just perfect. I definitely wanted some library snogging for Day 3, especially between these two cinnamon rolls. Memories of studying and confessions of raunchy dreams... what more could you want?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The library was silent save for the scratching of quill pens against paper. Which, quite honestly, was beginning to get on her nerves. She was restless. Well, maybe restless wasn’t the right word… maybe terrified was better. But she pushed that down as far as she could and settled for restless, because if she thought too much more about it she’d be rendered outright catatonic. She couldn’t keep still, even as she sketched out possible paths through Gronder Field, around the central fortress, into Empire territory.

It was hopeless. She didn’t see any way to avoid coming in contact with her former classmates. And having heard rumors of how Dimitri was holding up these days, she didn’t for one second believe he’d serve as a reliable ally should they cross paths. Her leg bounced under the table she was hunched over. Endlessly. Eventually it became too much for her partner.

“Annette,” came Ashe’s voice from the other side of the table. “You’re doing it again.”

She dragged her glassy eyes up from the map spread out before her and looked at him. His brow was creased with worry. For the tiniest moment she considered snarking back at him, but she didn’t. He was genuinely concerned. So she settled, keeping her leg still, and hunched back over her work.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She set down her quill and closed her eyes. “Not great,” she replied, voice devoid of any real emotion. “I’m sitting here drawing up plans for a hypothetical battle in which we have to kill as few of our former classmates as possible.”

He remained silent for a long moment, then closed the book he was poring over. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed out and pushed back his chair.

“You know,” he said after a pause, “this reminds me of the times we used to stay up past midnight studying for exams.”

She chuckled humorlessly. “Back before the war…”

“Yeah.”

Silence passed between them, the flickering of the candles making the shadows dance across Ashe’s face as she looked into it. So haggard. “I remember helping you with math problems at this exact table.”

Ashe was blushing. “You were an excellent teacher,” he said, a shy smile on his lips. “You should consider pursuing that once the war is over.”

She smiled despite herself. “I was already going to.”

“I guessed I missed that while I was away,” he replied, lowering his eyes.

She didn’t say anything. It still hurt to think about Ashe not returning to the monastery with the rest of the Golden Deer. Seeing him on the opposite side of the battlefield, even after everything. After they’d danced together at the ball, kissed under the winter moon that night, professed their love for each other and even started planning a future… only to be enemies because Ashe’s duty as a knight tore him away from her.

But that was in the past. They’d reconciled, put it behind them. She hit him with her axe as punishment—the flat side, of course, not the blade—and then they picked up where they’d left off five years ago. And she was glad, because having him here with her, now, under the weight of what she was doing, may have been the only thing keeping her sane. That weight continued to push down on her. Her face must have shown it, because his brow furrowed even more.

Slowly he stood and walked around to her, setting his hands on her shoulders and gripping tight. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him.

“That feels nice,” she whispered. “I’m so sore.”

Ashe began gently massaging her shoulders, eliciting a soft moan of relief from her throat. His touch made her tingle in the best way. She blushed a little—he’d grown so much since their school days. Still adorable, of course, and still so enthusiastic about everything. She could relate to that well… though her enthusiasm had faded over the years. But seeing him so earnest and upbeat did help to draw that out of her again, something that had become dormant from disuse.

It was nice. Kind of like coming home. Of course, thinking that only made her blush even more. Coming home to Ashe, huh? She did love him, after all, and long ago they had started to plan their future. Of course, that future hadn’t included a war, but still. She sighed and rose to her feet to join him.

“Hey, remember the ball?”

It was his turn to blush. “O-of course,” he replied. “How could I forget?”

She smiled. “Let’s dance just like we did back then!”

“But there’s no music…”

“I’ll hum something.”

She gasped a little when his arms slipped around her waist. Almost as if she’d forgotten what it felt like. But she timidly put her hands on his shoulders—he’d gotten so much taller—and rested her head against his chest. She hummed a tune, one she remembered from the night of the ball, one she couldn’t get out of her head… one she’d sung to herself often during the time they were apart, reliving that night over and over. And together they stepped through the library, the moonlight shining in through the window and the candles flickering.

She was almost at peace.

“I had a dream the other night,” Ashe said softly, after a while.

“Hmm?”

“We were here in the library together, studying.”

She stopped humming but they continued stepping to the inaudible rhythm. “What, like back when we were in school?”

He shook his head. “No, it was us, now,” he continued. “But we were studying for a big test. The Professor had told us that it was the most important test of the year.” He chuckled. “Of course, I had no idea how to do the problems, but you helped me, just like in the old days.”

Annette bit her lip, trying hard not to swoon. Goddess, he was so damn cute. She slid her hands from his shoulders and encircled his neck, pulling him closer to her.

“Did we pass?”

He hesitated. “I… I don’t know,” he said, voice wavering. “Because other things happened in the dream instead.”

She glanced up, eyebrow raised. “Other things?”

He cleared his throat but said nothing. “You know… other things.”

She held in a laugh. Hard not to feel the flush of mild embarrassment, but it was still just too cute. Not that she hadn’t thought about it either. Hard to get in the mood during a war, but her stomach did backflips every time they were alone together like this. Holding him tight, she nuzzled the nape of his neck and breathed him in.

“Our late night study sessions are what made me fall in love with you,” she said.

His hold on her tightened just a little, but enough for her to notice. “I… admit I was a little more shallow,” he replied. “I just couldn’t take my eyes off you when I first saw you in the classroom.”

“Aww…”

He huffed. “S-stop it.”

They continued their dance, Annette humming once more, closing her eyes and letting him guide her. It was kind of funny, really, since she was the one who taught him to dance as well. He was right—she was a natural teacher. And he was a perfect student, so willing to learn new things. She could relate to that, as well.

She blushed hard when she felt his lips on the top of her head. Tilting her head up, she caught his eye and smiled, giggling at his nervous fidgeting. He’d always been so hesitant to touch her when they were younger, always careful not to sit too close, tensing up whenever she’d grab his shoulders or glomp him from behind. Almost like he wasn’t worthy of it. Training that out of him was a job in and of itself. Even still it seemed he had tendencies to revert back, which made sense given everything. He still probably felt like he didn’t deserve her after not coming back to the monastery. She understood that, and, well, maybe she didn’t totally disagree. But times like this, dancing together in the library while reminiscing about studying for tests that never mattered… these were the times that reminded her just what it was about Ashe that she fell in love with. The things she loved about him, still.

So she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips into his, catching him completely off-guard as he gasped into her mouth. She giggled again, pulling him in tighter, and he finally returned the kiss. Timidly at first, but then with enough confidence to hold her steady and push back. They used to kiss like this all the time after the ball. Together in the library, studying—always studying, two bookworms who loved to learn and loved each other.

Sometimes it felt like the past was lifetimes ago. And sometimes, like now, it felt like they were still those same schoolkids, uncorrupted by war, kissing in the library when they should have been studying for a math test. At least in these moments it was easy to forget everything, forget about the long march to Gronder that was coming at the end of the month, forget about the former classmates they would likely be facing down on the opposite side of the battlefield… just as Ashe had been. Maybe, just maybe she or the Professor could convince a few more of them to come back, but… she had to be prepared for the possibility that they couldn’t. She swallowed hard, her nose still touching Ashe’s after breaking the kiss.

“Hey,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “Everything okay?”

She sniffed, bottling her feelings again and keeping them from leaking out. “No,” she replied. “Not really.”

He smiled gently. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand.

“Huh?”

He led her over to a row of shelves, tucked away in the corner. Her eyes widened. It was their little nook—it was still there. A small space where the shelving stopped and left room for a desk underneath, but no desk had ever been there. So it was almost like a hiding spot. She blushed, thinking back to all the times the two of them would cuddle in there, pretending to study at first only to end up making out every time. Seriously, she thought, their last few months at the monastery before the evacuation were… kind of hot. And embarrassing.

But hell, the spot was still there. She could probably still fit in it, as well. She ducked down and crawled in, just like the old days. Ashe followed, bumping his head on the shelving above and shrinking as much as he could. It didn’t look comfortable, and she laughed at how twisted his limbs ended up. He just shrugged.

“I guess I got a little taller, huh?”

She snorted. “Just a little.”

He took her hand and just held it, caressing her fingers, sighing and closing his eyes. “I wish we could go back, too,” he said. “We all do. None of us wanted this war, and we all just want to finish it.”

“And the work we’re doing here will finish it faster,” she replied, voice empty of enthusiasm. “I know that, but…”

She trailed off, leaving a ringing silence between them. Reaching around, she put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him close, and after a slight hesitation he reciprocated. They sat together, huddled, and in that moment Annette felt the sting of tears in the corners of her eyes. She choked it back, mostly, and only one single drop made it past her lashes, streaking down her cheek. But Ashe was right. They needed to finish the war, as quickly as possible. Only then could they have a future.

She gasped at the press of his lips against her temple, then turned her head to meet him in another kiss. It was short, but it said everything she couldn’t put into words. He was back. He’d been gone from her life for so long, but he was back. At the very least, she had him. And he had her. And maybe that was a harbinger of better things to come. It was something to cling to in an otherwise barren and desolate wasteland of hopelessness.

Soon her joints began to ache from being squeezed into such a cramped space. She could only imagine how uncomfortable Ashe must have been. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before slowly maneuvering herself out of the space. Ashe raised his eyebrows.

“Ready to get back to work?” he asked.

She nodded, yawning again. “Yeah,” she managed. “It’s gonna be another long night, so we should probably stop fooling around.”

He followed her out of the cubbyhole and stretched. “Feel any better?”

“Yes and no,” she replied. They made their way back to the desk. The candles were still flickering and the map sat unfinished, waiting. She glowered at it as she took her seat and picked up her quill pen. She hesitated a moment. “Hey.”

He glanced up from the book, which he’d opened once more. “Hmm?”

She smirked. “Tell me more about that dream.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Find me on Twitter: [OrangeRaven989](https://twitter.com/OrangeRaven989)


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